Chapter 4: The Brain and Nervous System

Question 1

Central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 1

Brain and spinal cord. These operation centers send out messages to muscles, glands, organs.

Question 2

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Answer 2

Areas outside of the brain and spinal cord. Handles input and output from the CNS.

Question 3

Purpose and function of the CNS

Answer 3

Spinal cord is a bridge between the brain and parts of the body below the neck.
- Spinal nerves protected by the spinal columns.
- Enable spinal reflexes.

Question 4

Purpose and function of PNS

Answer 4

Contains two subdivisions (messages carried through sensory and motor nerves):
- Somatic nervous system (voluntary): nerves connected to sensory receptors and skeletal muscles.
- Autonomic (think AUTOMATIC) nervous system (involuntary): regulates functioning of blood vessels, glands, and internal organs.
- Sympathetic nervous system (arousing)
- Parasympathetic nervous system (calming)

Question 5

Structure of the neuron

Answer 5

• Approximately 100 billion neurons in the brain
• Neurons vary in size and shape

Question 6

Myelin Sheath

Answer 6

Many axons are insulated by surrounding layer of fatty material called myelin sheath.
Speeds conductions of neural impulses and prevents interference from neighbouring signals.

Question 7

3 parts of a neuron

Answer 7

dendrites, cell body, axon

Question 8

how do neutrons communicate

Answer 8

No direct contact between neurons.

Communicate through the synapse.
- Includes the axon terminal, synaptic cleft, and receptor sites in the membrane of the receiving cell.

Question 9

Brain plasticity

Answer 9

The brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to experience (e.g., reorganizing or growing new neural connections).

Behavioural deficits that occur as a result of brain damage may be lessened by enriching environments people live in (e.g., Kolb et al, 1991)

Question 10

What are the specializations of particular brain areas for particular function?

Answer 10

• Vision from the occipital love (primary visual cortex)
• Hearing/auditory function from the temporal lobe (primary auditory cortex)

Question 11

What are the major areas/structure of the brain

Answer 11

Brain stem, cerebellum, thalamus, hypothalamus and pituitary gland, amygdala, hippocampus, cerebrum and cerebral cortex.